


A Twist in the Force

by jairyn



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anisoka, Brotp, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Fulcrum, Gray Jedi, Sith Ahsoka, Star Wars - Freeform, The Daughter - Freeform, The Son - Freeform, mortis gods, otp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-11 02:23:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15305349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jairyn/pseuds/jairyn
Summary: Against her own heart, Ahsoka ends the threat her former master was creating throughout the galaxy. But in that act, she makes a choice to take his place in order to defeat the Emperor once and for all. Will she succeed at freeing the galaxy from his tyranny or will she lose herself to the darkness forever?





	1. Chapter 1

He raised his lightsaber to block her strike, but she had momentum behind her. She easily brushed it to the side with one move and brought her other down to slice his arm clean off. She pushed off his chest, flipped and on the back swing sliced through the other arm. He fell to the ground hard with no way to catch himself. She was above him with one of her white lightsabers to his throat.

 "You are beaten.“ She said calmly, chest rising and falling in a deep, steadying breath. She could feel the way he glared at her through the red eye sockets of the black skull shaped helmet. But with both arms gone, there was little he could do about it. Her heart ached that everything they’d shared had come to this. "I loved you.” She said quietly.

 "If you really loved me, Ahsoka, you’d kill me.“ His voice was raspy and labored. She closed her eyes and let the force surround her, looking for guidance and then she raised her arm, spun the lightsaber in her hand and jabbed it down through his heart.

 She turned them both off and hooked them back to her belt. She should feel remorse, but she didn’t. She felt cold spreading through her veins.

 She unlatched his helmet to take with her, and left his broken body lying there. Then made her way to his tie fighter.

 A few minutes later she was in hyperspace heading towards Coruscant.

 —

 Palpatine waved his royal guards to stand down as a young Togruta woman threw open the double doors into his office. She marched in carrying Darth Vader’s helmet under her right arm. Without a word, she stepped up to his desk and set her trophy on it. He studied her carefully.

 He knew who she was of course. The Empire had been hunting her from the moment they found out she’d survived Order 66. This was an unexpected development. He’d felt the death of his apprentice, though he’d hoped that wasn’t what the feeling meant. But he saw the unmistakable gold glow in her eyes and could feel her hatred. He couldn’t help but admire her courage to waltz right into the center of the Empire with a large bounty on her head. He decided to wait for her to speak first. He didn’t have to wait long.

 "Train me in the ways of the dark side.” She demanded. Well… this was interesting. Not only had she killed his apprentice, she wanted to take his place.

 He uncrossed his fingers and set them out flat on his desk and stood in a commanding manner. She did not back down. Impressive. Her cold, dark eyes watched him. He felt no fear in her, only anger and hate. If Vader was dead, then perhaps the person he trained would be an even better apprentice. In fact, she reminded him of Dooku; not as powerful as the chosen one, but able to control her emotions, focusing them directly into action.

 He circled her, looking her up and down. Planning. Calculating. “So you killed my apprentice. Unfortunate.” He said carefully. “But why do you think you’re worthy to take his place?”

 Ahsoka dropped to one knee and bowed her head. “I will do whatever you ask, master.”

 "It’s not my nature to take people at their word. I will expect you to pass a test.“

 "Of course.” She said obediently. “Your will be done.”

 He thrummed his fingers on his desk. He’d seen her fight before, he knew she was strong and fast. She’d be an impressive apprentice. But he wanted her to prove her loyalty first.

 "One of my officers has recently fallen out of my favor. You will kill him and bring me his head. Do this, and I will train you.“

 "As you wish, my lord.”

 —

 "I knew you’d be back.“ He said, brushing his hair out of his eyes as she disembarked the vessel and entered the ruins.

 "You’re very trusting, Skywalker.” She replied.

 "I’m not trusting, but I do trust you.“ He replied simply.

 "Even as a Sith?” She asked curiously.

 "Even as a Sith.“ He confirmed. "Did the Emperor buy it?”

 "He felt the death of Vader, yes. But he doesn’t trust me yet.“

 "Of course not, he’ll expect you to prove it.” Anakin said thoughtfully and then looked up at her like he was trying to read a book.

 "What?“ She asked.

 "I wish you didn’t have to do this.” He said, emotion causing his voice to pitch higher. “I don’t like seeing you like this.”

 "We made a deal.“ She replied. "I release you, and I take your place. In exchange, you help me destroy him.”

 He reached out and ran his bare fingers down her face, tracing the white markings that she’d had since birth. “It’s not too late, we could run away and never look back. Now, before your transformation is complete! Before you kill for him!”

 "And let him reign unchecked in the galaxy? I can’t do that, Anakin. I can’t turn my back to the lives he’s destroying. If I can stop him by doing this, I will.“ She responded passionately.

 He studied her for a moment. "You’ve changed.” He said quietly.

 "How so?“

 "Well, for one thing… when I told you to kill me, I didn’t think you would.” He chuckled.

 "I only did it because I knew I could bring you back.“

 "How’d you know you could do that?” He asked.

 "Lift your shirt.“ She responded instead.

 "What?”

 "Just lift it.“ She said reaching for it. He swatted her hand away and rolled it up. There on the side of his rib cage was a white tattoo of a convoree.

 "Now how did that get there?” He asked surprised.

 "It used to be here,“ she said lifting her tunic to just below her breasts. Instead of a tattoo there was a huge scar resembling the tattoo that now adorned him.

 "What does it mean?”

 "It means that the Daughter from Mortis lives in you now, instead of me.“ She said quietly.

 "So you figured it out then? How?” He let go of his shirt and looked up at her face.

 "It took awhile.“ She said, "no thanks to you or master Kenobi! Do you realize how startling it is to wake up next to a dead being, a very powerful one, have the two people you trust not only refuse to talk to you about what happened, but also suddenly treat you as if you’re fragile? And then discover you somehow have a marking on you that appeared out of nowhere and not even the temple healers could explain its sudden appearance or why you can do things you’d never been able to before?” She ranted; years of pent up fear and confusion boiling to the surface.

 "I’m sorry,“ he said reaching for her, but she stepped away. He sighed. "We should have told you the truth, but the whole experience was as frightening to us as it must have been to you. We both thought that maybe it would be better to forget it even happened.”

 "That wasn’t your choice to make! You weren’t the ones that had to live with it! You could forget it, but I couldn’t.“ She turned her back to him and looked across the dark expanse.

 "When did you know the truth?” He asked quietly.

 "When I stole the kyber crystal from the inquisitor on Raada. And was able to cleanse it, which I didn’t know you could do either. The only force user I remembered being able to shut down someone else’s lightsaber against their will was the Father. I started doing some research and found an ancient holocron that talked about force wielders like those on Mortis; they were the last of an ancient race known as the Celestials. It included a list of abilities they were known to possess. Throughout the years, I’d managed to do some of them, so I tried doing the others too and I could. That led me to one conclusion, I’d somehow absorbed one of them. Which would explain a lot.“ She didn’t turn to face him as she spoke. It had been a dramatic discovery. One that had forced her to rethink everything she thought she knew. "That’s how I knew I could bring you back to life after killing you.” She said turning to face him again.

 As if he felt what she wasn’t saying, his blue eyes widened. “You didn’t know you’d survive the process? Why would you do it then?” He stepped closer to her, she didn’t pull away this time.

 "Because I love you.“ She said looking down at her feet. "If I had to sacrifice myself to bring you back to the light… I’d do it.”

 "Ahsoka!“ He cried, tears streaming down his cheeks, he pulled her into his arms. "Why would you do that for me? I don’t deserve that!”

 "Love isn’t about what you deserve.“ She said, pulling away. "Now if you don’t mind, master. I have a job to do.” He looked dubious for a moment.

 "What is your test of loyalty?“ He asked.

 "He wants me to kill Tarkin.”

 "What?“ He said surprised. "Ahsoka, it’s most certainly a trap. He’s one of the Emperor’s most loyal servants.”

 "You think I don’t know that?“ She said calmly. "He told me Tarkin would be expecting me. Of course he’s going to double cross me. He doesn’t want me to succeed. But I will anyways. Then the joke is on him, not only will he lose a lot of troops, he’ll lose his best officer. It will spread dissent amongst his ranks. A big win for us.”

 "We have to get to him first. Tarkin is heavily guarded and does not play by the rules.“

 "Yeah I remember. I also remember that you admired him.” She said pointedly.

 "I did, yes. Until I was his slave.“ She saw him grit his teeth. Part of her wanted to rub it in that he’d brought it on himself. But if she was going to pass the Emperor’s test, she needed to focus. Channeling that anger into something more useful than pettiness.

 "Come on. I need to get you off this planet. In case I don’t come back.” She said.

 "Oh I don’t think so. I’m not leaving this planet  _until_  you come back. Think of it as motivation.“ He smirked.

 "You’re so full of yourself.” She rolled her eyes. She turned to go but he put his hand on her shoulder.

 "It’s not that, Ahsoka. Do you remember what I told you a million times during the Clone wars? Your thoughts create your reality. If you don’t believe you’ll be back, you won’t be. But since I believe you will, I’m going to wait here until you do. Please, be careful.“ He said. His voice sounded strained. She looked him over. She wasn’t sure if she should find it endearing or disturbing that he suddenly cared so much after trying to kill her.

 But she wasn’t ready to forgive him for that yet. No matter what she’d sacrificed for him, including the Daughter’s protection, she wasn’t ready to fall back into his arms like old times. Things couldn’t go back to the way they’d been. And she wasn’t sure she wanted them to. She was different now. And so was he. If he followed through on his part of the bargain, then she’d see where she sat about letting him in again.

 For now, she had to use the pain he’d caused her to make her stronger. She had to remind herself of it day in and day out to make herself darker. And even if it didn’t kill her, it would definitely cause her to break. And that was something she was certain, not even he, could put back together for her. She turned her back on him without saying a word and boarded the ship. The cold she felt before was sinking in as she steeled herself for the road ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

Tarkin laughed when he saw her march onto the bridge. "You?” He spat. “The Emperor must be joking if he thinks you have what it takes to kill me.”

 She stood there without reacting. Once upon a time his words might have stung, but now, she felt nothing. She felt nothing in response to his taunts and nothing about what she was about to do. She watched him, narrowing her eyes, feeling her predatory instincts kicking in. While he laughed, her senses were wide open studying the soon to be battlefield in front of her.

 She was only one person, to the empire’s millions, but the stormtroopers were terrible shots and slow thinkers. They’d be dispatched easily. The officers weren’t much better. More strategic perhaps, but not trained for face to face combat. Not to mention they didn’t wear any armor, so they’d be quick kills. Tarkin himself was only a slight step above the officers. He was dependent on the guards around him to sacrifice themselves for him. But when they were all dead…

 He’d have reinforcements standing by. Likely he’d run to a hanger where they keep the heavy machinery. If she didn’t want to fight a full-scale war, she’d need to make sure he didn’t get that far. He was arrogant though, she’d use that to her advantage. He wouldn’t run until he was certain he had no other choice. Which likely meant burning through all his reinforcements.

 She didn’t like the idea of killing this many, even if they were the enemy of the rebellion and the people, but this was a path she knowingly chose to walk. And that meant doing things she didn’t like. She’d come too far to show weakness now.

 She’d met no resistance making her way to the bridge, proving that it was indeed a trap. Anakin had provided her with a map to the ship and she’d been mentally calculating their troops and resources as she moved through it. The odds were against her, most definitely. Even if Anakin were here beside her, it likely wouldn’t end well. Not that she’d expected it to be easy.

 What Tarkin didn’t know, was that the easiest way to stop him was to destroy his ship, and she’d already set the charges. It was too bad the emperor wanted his head, that would be the tricky part. But she had a plan for that too. She was going to go above and beyond what he wanted, to prove her loyalty. He liked results, well, he’d get results.

 "Kill her!“ Tarkin ordered and several dozen blasters caulked and pointed at her. She still hadn’t grabbed her lightsabers. As the firing started, she leapt around the room, forcing them to damage equipment and kill each other. She used some of them as human shields, threw a few into others.

 She lost herself in the battle dance, focusing her hatred so she thought of nothing but her goal. Bodies fell around her, yet she still had not drawn her weapons. She was too fast for them. None had even come close to hitting her. As the first wave thinned, she heard the march of incoming reinforcements. She pulled her lightsabers from her belt at last.

 Deflecting dozens of blaster bolts back at those that fired them, she repeated the dance she’d done before. She let herself imagine she was slicing through droids rather than people, the problem was though, droids didn’t bleed. With every kill, her hatred for the empire grew; forcing her into a focused dark and evil place. She stopped seeing their white armor. She stopped seeing them as people. They were pigs for the slaughter, and she coated the room in red.

 As the last guard fell, she flipped and landed between Tarkin and his escape route. For the first time since she appeared he finally looked afraid. She stared at him coldly, unblinking.

 "What do you want with me?” He stammered.

 "The Emperor wants your head on his desk.“ She said with indifference.

 "But why? What did I do?” He asked, looking shifty. She knew he had a few more tricks up his sleeve, so she had yet to let down her guard.

 "I don’t ask questions. I’m just the delivery service.“

 He dove towards a console and pressed a button. She hadn’t bothered to react to his sudden movement because whatever it was he was doing, she still had him cornered. Alarms sounded around the ship. She could hear the movements of troops.

 "Well, you’re not delivering me today.” He said stubbornly, standing up taller and straightening his uniform. He had a lot of confidence in whatever he’d just summoned.

 "You’re right.“ She said coldly. "I’ll be delivering you in three days since we have to account for travel time.” She pulled the detonator switch from her belt and held it up so he could see it. Then she pressed it.

 Several big explosions rocked the ship. She kept herself balanced carefully between him and the door. He lost his footing, tumbling to the ground. “Are you mad?” He screamed. “Even if you manage to kill me, the emperor won’t take kindly to you destroying his fleet.”

 "Hmm… perhaps you’re right.“ She said looking over her shoulder as a door opened behind her. She dispatched the pathetic reinforcements with ease. "But for the record, he only told me to bring him your head. He never specified how. So I thought I’d have a little fun in the process.”

 The ship listed dangerously to the right and they both slid down the floor into the wall. As the transparisteel window turned in response to the ships movements, she could see chunks of it floating in every direction. Several pieces of it jammed into the other vessels within range causing them to have problems. It hadn’t been exactly what she’d been going for, but it worked. It was a victory in her mind, but as much as she hated to admit it, Tarkin was right. If she too obviously destroyed too much in an effort to meet the Emperor’s demands, not only would her loyalty always be in question, he’d likely find a way to destroy her. The gains of her skills would not outweigh the costs of his resources. If only she could risk calling the rebel fleet in to make it look like they’d been responsible for all of this. But she couldn’t do that yet. It was too suspicious. She would have to take responsibility for this mess herself.

 She turned to see Tarkin trying to climb out the door of the bridge. She threw her lightsaber in his direction, slicing a sizable wound in his leg. He let go, crumpling to the floor in pain. She’d done all she could here, it was time to finish her task.

 She made her way towards him, deflecting bolts he insisted on firing at her. One of them hit him in the shoulder and he dropped the blaster. He started begging her to let him go, but she felt no pity for him. Anyone that devotes their lives to committing atrocities like these, had no right to beg for their lives when judgement came calling. She brought the hilt of her lightsaber down hard on his head, knocking him unconscious.

 —

 "I said I wanted his head on my desk.“ Sidious breathed in annoyance when she entered the room dragging a squirming Tarkin behind her.

 She looked at him coldly, no emotion registering on her face. He felt the darkness boiling in her. He hated to admit he was impressed. How she’d singlehandedly managed to fight through an entire battle cruiser and bring the admiral back alive. It was surprising.

 He watched her push Tarkin down in front of her, pull out her lightsabers and scissor cut through his neck, just like Vader had done to Dooku. Without breaking eye contact with him, she used the force to place his head on his desk, just like he’d asked for. He sneered at it in disgust. He hadn’t actually expected her to succeed, but perhaps he’d underestimated her. He should have sent her after his enemies rather than one of his best admirals. Tarkin wouldn’t be easy to replace.

 He stood up and walked around the desk, stepping delicately over the headless body and he made a lap around her. He felt her hatred, and anger. To his surprise there was a clarity and focus to it. She possessed the power of the dark side, that much was clear, but she had control over it. Now he  _was_  impressed. No amount of discipline had ever made Vader so focused in his anger. But it wasn’t her control that concerned him, it was her motives.

 She’d purposely made a show of both her victories for the dark side. She wanted him to witness it almost as though she thought he wouldn’t believe it otherwise. But killing Vader seemed like a poor excuse to follow him down that path. If she’d wanted to learn the dark side, she could have just as easily conspired with his past apprentice to learn instead, rather than learning from him.

 "Why do you want to become a Sith?” He asked. Watching her carefully for any telltale signs she might be deceiving him.

 "I tasted true power when I fought Vader. It was the strongest I’d ever felt. I want more than the Jedi ever taught me.“ She replied. She hadn’t even batted an eye. No hesitation, no nervous movements, nothing to indicate she was lying. If this was an act, she was surprisingly good at it. He’d felt her before when she was Skywalker’s apprentice. She’d wreaked goodness and light. But all of that was gone now. Since she’d burst into his office carrying his apprentice’s helmet, he’d felt nothing good from her. Whatever her motives, if they weren’t what she said they were, she was convincing.

 "You passed the test and delivered me his head. Now I will uphold my end of the bargain and train you as my apprentice.” He said.

 She knelt down, “thank you, master. I won’t let you down.”

 He glanced at Tarkin’s corpse. “No, I don’t think you will.”


	3. Chapter 3

"Ahsoka!” He shouted the moment she stepped off the landing ramp. “I’m so glad you’re safe!” She looked at him. Everything her new master had been teaching her told her she should kill him. But she was better than that. Sidious believed the dark side was all powerful, that nothing could resist its pull. Through his rigorous training, she’d sometimes believed him, but then she’d remind herself what she was fighting for and she’d get through another day without turning completely.

 It was difficult, she hated to admit it, but she was determined to be stronger than anyone believed possible. There were times when she was out there, doing his beck and call, that she’d fear she was losing herself. So much blood, so much hate, so much misery and pain and suffering. But then she’d think of Anakin waiting for her on Malachor, believing, truly believing that she’d be back, and she’d survive.

 It had been a long time though, months had passed since she’d left him here. Her time had been consumed with training. Sidious was a cruel master and he pushed her to breaking point daily. But what he didn’t realize, was that she was used to being pushed to the limit. She’d had to in order to keep up with Anakin. Determination alone got her through the training. Determination to not break. Every training session only increased her hatred for him. But it also reminded her of what she’d once had with Anakin.

 And that was the reason she’d finally found a window to return to him. To remind herself that she wasn’t lost to the light. “Are you alright? It’s been so long, I’ve been worried. Not that I doubted your abilities or anything…” he trailed off when he looked at her face.

 She marched right up to him without saying anything, put her hands on his face and kissed him hard. His eyes had widened, but he’d melted into the kiss. When she pulled away he looked at her.

 "What was that for?“ He asked.

 "I needed to feel something again.” She admitted. “Something besides darkness.”

 "Well, in that case…“ he said, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into his arms. He slid one hand up to her neck, running his thumb along her jaw line. He met her initial intensity and hungrily attacked her mouth. It was her turn to melt. After months under the cruel emperor, the pain Anakin had caused her seemed so minimal. She was feeling a lot more forgiving this time.

 She ran her fingers through his ragged hair. He looked strange with a beard, but she could get used to it. She was surprised at how good it felt to be in his arms. She couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for him in that horrible suit. Dependent on everyone around you for survival, trapped and restrained both physically and mentally in nothing but cold and darkness. It was probably why he’d responded to her kiss as though he’d been starving. Maybe that was the true curse of the dark side, hunger. Hunger for simple pleasures and powerful intimacy.

 As far as she knew, the emperor never engaged in pleasures of the flesh, though she’d caught him staring at her a few times. It had made her uncomfortable, but she’d had to pretend she hadn’t noticed. She bit his lip, nibbling at it. He groaned, tipping his head back and she moved her kisses down to his neck. He tasted so good. Admittedly she’d wanted to do this ages ago, but she’d never had the guts. Now she felt like she had nothing to lose. And he seemed as lost in her as she was in him.

 "Show me your darkness.” He breathed as he possessed her lips again. He jumped a little at her intensity, but smiled into her flesh. She felt his large hands all over her and she breathed in, feeling wild. “So how is your training going?” He asked finally. She zapped him with some lightning in response.


End file.
